I have always been interested in the craft of things. Whatever the job, I find it interesting to discover the tools that people use. Below is a list of tools that I have used to build this site and others.
Update
This site is constantly under (de/re/mis)construction and recently I have decided to overhaul the whole mess. The list below is heavily suspect.
This site
This site is powered by WordPress, a powerful content management tool for blogging. I use the following plug-ins:
- Akismet: anti-comment spam tool
- ShortStat: stats tool similar to Mint
- WordPress DB Backup: Simple database backup for your WP database
- Tiger Style Admin: Superb alternate interface for WordPress
- PHP Markdown Extra: Wiki-like editing
Tools
Since the fall of 2006, when I rediscovered my love for all things Apple, I have been editing this (and many other sites) on my iMac using Textmate with a huge number of custom triggers. I use CyberDuck for my FTP app (only because I am too cheap to get Transmit).
Historical Tool Use
Since 1997, I have been using HomeSite as my development tool of choice. It’s a great tool that doesn’t get in the way of you creating your own code. Since Macromedia acquired Allaire a few years ago, they have showed little interest in upgrading the application. Most developers have seen the writing on the wall and have been moving on for years now.
Lately, I have been using jEdit, an excellent coding tool that is highly customizable and extendable. Among the many great features and plug-ins that are available, I like Super Abbreviations, which allows you to produce complete blocks of code with just a few keystrokes.
For the most part, I use the FTP features built into jEdit, but I also use SmartFTP for transferring other document types (images, video, etc).
Typography
If you look in the bottom right corner, you can see a small icon indicating the fonts on this system are being delivered via Typekit. This uses the W3C standard for &at;font-face, allowing me to specify more than just basic fonts like Arial, Times or Verdana.
On this site, I use Calluna by Exljbris Font Foundry for headings and titling, as well as Ratio by psType for body text.